▲ 28 ▼ Geolocation without a GPS (codeberg.org) submitted 3 weeks ago by 154b161@lemmy.ml to c/android@lemmy.world 26 comments fedilink hide all child comments It turns out you can get a location just by scanning nearby wifi and cell tower signals!
[–] scott@lem.free.as 10 points 3 weeks ago (2 children) I'm not sure why anyone thinks receiving GPS data is "bad". If you're somewhere where GPS is frequently jammed (such as a warzone, etc.) then it could be useful. permalink fedilink source parent hideshow 4 child comments replies: [–] 154b161@lemmy.ml [S] 2 points 2 weeks ago Receiving GPS data is not bad. Apps like this are more for demonstrating cool technology, not for practical use (though it seems to be working really well as well). That being said, MicroG does use BeaconDB as a network location provider, so there is a lot of utility there as well. permalink fedilink source parent [–] prenatal_confusion@feddit.org 1 point 3 weeks ago (1 child) Enegy use comes to mind. permalink fedilink source parent hideshow 2 child comments replies: [–] turmacar@lemmy.world 5 points 3 weeks ago (2 children) GPS is a passive receiver. There's processing going on, but you dramatically decrease energy use by just updating less often. It's not like you're sending a signal to space. permalink fedilink source parent hideshow 4 child comments replies: [–] prenatal_confusion@feddit.org 1 point 3 weeks ago (1 child) I am aware of that but somehow expected that it still took more energy to receive until there are enough SATs available than to do a BLE scan. Just a gut feeling though and only receiving should have a bigger impact than I thought. Makes sense! permalink fedilink source parent hideshow 2 child comments replies: [–] 5gruel@lemmy.world 2 points 2 weeks ago* Don't worry your gut feeling is right. Wifi / Bluetooth scans are orders of magnitude cheaper. People in here don't unterstand how localization works. permalink fedilink source parent [–] 5gruel@lemmy.world 1 point 2 weeks ago what are you talking about? GPS is far from a "passive receiver" in any sense of that vague term. It's running an oscillator at the carrier frequency. GPS is probably the most power hungry sensor on your device. permalink fedilink source parent
[–] 154b161@lemmy.ml [S] 2 points 2 weeks ago Receiving GPS data is not bad. Apps like this are more for demonstrating cool technology, not for practical use (though it seems to be working really well as well). That being said, MicroG does use BeaconDB as a network location provider, so there is a lot of utility there as well. permalink fedilink source parent
[–] prenatal_confusion@feddit.org 1 point 3 weeks ago (1 child) Enegy use comes to mind. permalink fedilink source parent hideshow 2 child comments replies: [–] turmacar@lemmy.world 5 points 3 weeks ago (2 children) GPS is a passive receiver. There's processing going on, but you dramatically decrease energy use by just updating less often. It's not like you're sending a signal to space. permalink fedilink source parent hideshow 4 child comments replies: [–] prenatal_confusion@feddit.org 1 point 3 weeks ago (1 child) I am aware of that but somehow expected that it still took more energy to receive until there are enough SATs available than to do a BLE scan. Just a gut feeling though and only receiving should have a bigger impact than I thought. Makes sense! permalink fedilink source parent hideshow 2 child comments replies: [–] 5gruel@lemmy.world 2 points 2 weeks ago* Don't worry your gut feeling is right. Wifi / Bluetooth scans are orders of magnitude cheaper. People in here don't unterstand how localization works. permalink fedilink source parent [–] 5gruel@lemmy.world 1 point 2 weeks ago what are you talking about? GPS is far from a "passive receiver" in any sense of that vague term. It's running an oscillator at the carrier frequency. GPS is probably the most power hungry sensor on your device. permalink fedilink source parent
[–] turmacar@lemmy.world 5 points 3 weeks ago (2 children) GPS is a passive receiver. There's processing going on, but you dramatically decrease energy use by just updating less often. It's not like you're sending a signal to space. permalink fedilink source parent hideshow 4 child comments replies: [–] prenatal_confusion@feddit.org 1 point 3 weeks ago (1 child) I am aware of that but somehow expected that it still took more energy to receive until there are enough SATs available than to do a BLE scan. Just a gut feeling though and only receiving should have a bigger impact than I thought. Makes sense! permalink fedilink source parent hideshow 2 child comments replies: [–] 5gruel@lemmy.world 2 points 2 weeks ago* Don't worry your gut feeling is right. Wifi / Bluetooth scans are orders of magnitude cheaper. People in here don't unterstand how localization works. permalink fedilink source parent [–] 5gruel@lemmy.world 1 point 2 weeks ago what are you talking about? GPS is far from a "passive receiver" in any sense of that vague term. It's running an oscillator at the carrier frequency. GPS is probably the most power hungry sensor on your device. permalink fedilink source parent
[–] prenatal_confusion@feddit.org 1 point 3 weeks ago (1 child) I am aware of that but somehow expected that it still took more energy to receive until there are enough SATs available than to do a BLE scan. Just a gut feeling though and only receiving should have a bigger impact than I thought. Makes sense! permalink fedilink source parent hideshow 2 child comments replies: [–] 5gruel@lemmy.world 2 points 2 weeks ago* Don't worry your gut feeling is right. Wifi / Bluetooth scans are orders of magnitude cheaper. People in here don't unterstand how localization works. permalink fedilink source parent
[–] 5gruel@lemmy.world 2 points 2 weeks ago* Don't worry your gut feeling is right. Wifi / Bluetooth scans are orders of magnitude cheaper. People in here don't unterstand how localization works. permalink fedilink source parent
[–] 5gruel@lemmy.world 1 point 2 weeks ago what are you talking about? GPS is far from a "passive receiver" in any sense of that vague term. It's running an oscillator at the carrier frequency. GPS is probably the most power hungry sensor on your device. permalink fedilink source parent